Danger lurks in the Wave Country
by Blewin
Summary: featuring the usual group and Kiba's team, the two teams met unexpectedly, and by the way, where has Kakashi sensei gone to! chapter 4 is up. Sorry for the memory bit, it was typed in Italic Word but it didn't show up... i'm trying to fix it.
1. Kakashi, where are you

Note: contains a bit of spoilers from the fight with Zabuza onwards.  
  
Chapter 1 - Kakashi, where are you?  
  
The water was so blue and the sky so clear, clear of all the trouble that once plagued this place. The wave country, known as the poorest in the world was now prospering like flowers in spring. The bridge, linking the country to the outside world was walked upon by hundreds of people each day. Naruto sat on the wharf with Inari just at the back of the boy's house, both with their legs dangling over the side and in Naruto's case, in the water. It was a tearful reunion. Group seven had just finished a mission and was passing by the wave country when Naruto's name was uttered by a group of complete strangers. Curiosity gusting out of him, Naruto had jumped at them, a man, a woman and two teenage girls. Upon hearing that the bridge connecting to the wave country was named Naruto, the blond haired boy had stood stock still. Sakura, thinking something was up, went to see what it was this time, and she got a shock at seeing Naruto's face. He looks like a fool coming out of the hospital was her first impression. Then he had jumped up suddenly, causing her to stray back a step and yelled with his arms in the air that they were going to visit Inari. Inwardly Sakura was elated, but she uttered a, "But" anyway. Sasuke was looking on with his hands in his pockets. Obviously it did not matter to him whether they went or not, and Kakashi? He was interested in seeing how their friends were faring, so at the insistence of Naruto, the group turned from their homebound route.  
  
"Good job Inari," Naruto complimented and the little boy beamed. Inari, no longer the frightened little boy swallowed in self-pity and helplessness, had been helping around the house and making some modifications. Sakura noted that the torn out part of the picture hanging on the wall was now put back and the foster father, the hero of the wave country, smiled happily at the pink haired girl. Team seven had spent two days just wondering around doing nothing and relaxing themselves, then Kakashi suggested they started a training session since they were all so free (with the exception of Kakashi being missing the whole two days), so at the appointed hour, the three team mates assembled in the market place..  
  
The people of the wave country, for those who remembered the group anyway, which was practically everyone, greeted them as they hurried by on their businesses. Naruto sat on the ground waving tiredly as Sakura slumped beside him. They were assaulted by the heavenly smells of the market place and it had already been three hours. Sasuke stood behind them with his arms crossed, his eyes roving among the throng.  
  
"Arrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! As much as I like greeting all my friends, WHERE is Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto let out.  
  
A puff of smoke appeared right beside him. "Yo," Kakashi said with his hand up. "Somebody fell into the water and I.." He didn't get to finish as both Naruto and Sakura shouted, pointing at him in unison, "Liar!" Kakashi wasn't even wet!  
  
The Jounin put his hand in front of his mask and coughed once to cover the embarrassment. "All right, today's training is very important. What did you feel while you were waiting?" he said.  
  
"Nay Nay, Kakashi sensei," Naruto said, getting up to his feet, "Can we have ramen first? I'm starving!" Sakura nodded sensibly, "We can start the training afterwards."  
  
Kakashi put a finger in front of Naruto's eager face, and shook it very evenly before his student. "If you were all comfortable after a meal, the training is moot. Besides, you've already started," he made a sweeping motion with his hand as his students gawked at him. They had started their training already, when was that? "Concentrate with your nose, and tell me what kind of smells you could distinguish."  
  
"Smell?" Sakura said.  
  
"Yes," Kakashi replied, "A good Shinobi will employ all his five senses. Today is to train you to use your sense of smell." Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. As much as he would like to have lunch now, with ramen of course, he liked training to become stronger better, so, even if only understanding half of what Kakashi was saying, he sat back down and began to train, sniffing the air with his nose.  
  
"I'll be back in a second. Now don't fall asleep," the Jounin advised and with a smile, he was gone.  
  
They spent the next three hours trying to distinguish the smell, but the smell of the sea was particularly strong and it was obscuring all the other smells in the air. Naruto rubbed his nose absentmindedly. Sakura put her chin in her palm, supporting her arm above her knee and closed her eyes, while Sasuke, similarly with eyes closed was attempting to block out all his other senses.  
  
The sea birds flew above the calm surface of the water, diving in now and then to emerge with a struggling fish in the beak. The waves churned slightly and the wind ruffled Naruto's hair.  
  
Naruto jumped up abruptly. "He said one second didn't he? Sakura?" he insisted. "I'm going to have some ramen before I die of starvation."  
  
"Naruto!" Sakura protested, but seeing Naruto walking towards the ramen shop which was, not surprisingly, right opposite them (Naruto chose the spot) and she was reminded starkly of her empty stomach.  
  
"Sasuke kun?" she said, turning around. Sasuke was already moving. "Let's go," he said.  
  
The ramen was heavenly, even though Sakura did not like it as much as Naruto, who was having bowl after bowl. Well, let him waste his money if he wanted. The group soon finished a late lunch and went back to the smelling exercise, much refreshed and annoyingly, not as sensitive to the assorted aromas floating around them as before. Being hungry really was a two edged tool in aiding your study. They waited and did the training, and Sakura rose to give her legs a stretch. It was dusk, the sun was setting, and people were getting ready to go home. The market place was becoming quiet, and the nice aroma was fast disappearing. "WHERE IS HE?" she exclaimed.  
  
"Shall we head back? He's probably back already," Sasuke said. "You're right, he's probably eating ramen with Inari!" Naruto huffed. "Naruto," Sakura reproved, how come all he could think of was ramen?  
  
* * *  
  
"He's not here?" Sasuke said, frowning as Inari's mother prepared dinner. In the dining room, Naruto was getting excited about all the food on the table, all looking very delicious while chatting with Inari. Sakura was putting down pairs of chopsticks around the table, swatting Naruto's hand occasionally as the blond boy tried to sneak in a bite. Sasuke headed for the door.  
  
"Sasuke kun? Where're you going?" Sakura called. "Just a short walk," he replied shortly. "But we're about to have dinner," she protested. "I'll be back really quick," he said, throwing her his usual expressionless look and shutting the door behind him.  
  
Sasuke jumped up onto a tree and sped southward. He was not sure where Kakashi had gone to, but he knew it was no coincidence that they were here in the wave country when there were tons of missions waiting back in the village. Kakashi had spotted something, and that was why he came, seemingly to oblige Naruto. The deep blue haired Uchiha leaped expertly from branch to branch, searching with his eyes, his hearing and what he had been doing all day, smell. It did not take him long to come across something suspicious. At the wan light of the moon, the string strung from tree to tree was reflected momentarily, giving away its location. Sasuke stopped, breathing a sigh of relief for seeing it in time. Carefully, he stepped across the string, his feet sailed over it, and he landed on the ground.  
  
Almost too late, he saw the rectangular papers scattered like fallen leaves beneath his feet and he gathered the chakra to his soles quickly and jumped. The ground exploded below him like a volcano, shaking the trees nearby and deafening Sasuke's ears. His body arched over the smoky ground and his feet found another tree trunk, on the opposite side of where the string laid. Someone had set traps here and whoever that followed had not triggered one trap. Could it be Kakashi? Sasuke forged ahead.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where's your friend?" Inari's mother asked, standing up to pick up the dirty dishes. Sakura could not answer. Sasuke said he'll be back, but he had been gone for an hour, and he missed dinner. She could not stand the thought of something happening to him. Sasuke was the number one rookie in the leaf village; no one could possibly best him. The thought of Orochimaru rose unbidden and she shiver involuntarily. If it was Orochimaru, Sakura admitted reluctantly..  
  
"I'm going to look for Sasuke," she said, slipping her feet into the pair of sandal. "What?" Naruto said, putting down his chopsticks quickly. "I'm coming too," he said, hurriedly getting off the chair. Sakura nodded. She hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Strangely though, the possibility of Sasuke going to look for Kakashi never crossed her mind. The shadow of Orochimaru covered Kakashi's like a black moon. 


	2. Discovery

Chapter 2 - Discovery  
  
Damn it, where has Sasuke gone off to? Disappearing just like Kakashi sensei? Naruto thought as he leaped among the tree branches with Sakura beside him. He had never understood why Sasuke did things. The Uchiha boy did things so differently from him, but one thing he could identify with. He had to become stronger and stronger so Sasuke would not look down on him again. Naruto suddenly stopped, and Sakura leaped past him to land on the next tree trunk. "What is it Naruto?" she said, impatient to go on.  
  
"Do you smell that?" he said, sniffing the air. Sakura trained in her sense of smell. She frowned, "This is no time to play training Naruto. We have to find Sasuke."  
  
"Ramen!" Naruto said, his eyes widening. The aroma of ramen in the middle of nowhere? Now this was getting suspicious. Sakura tested the air. The night air was clean and cold, and all she got was the smell of leaves and rough tree bark. She could not smell any ramen. Sakura glared at Naruto skeptically. She knew Naruto was obsessed with ramen. Then a thought hit her. Since he was so sensitive with the smell maybe she was missing it. If they could find out the person who was cooking ramen in the forest, maybe they could get some information out of him. It was better than searching in the dark, blind.  
  
"Where is this smell coming from?" she said, thinking already that her sense of smell regarding ramen was not as sharp as Naruto's.  
  
Naruto looked at her. "I'm sorry Sakura chan, let's go look for Sasuke." "Where is this smell coming from Naruto?" she repeated, exasperated at his lack of understanding. "Maybe the person eating ramen can tell us where he is," she explained.  
  
Naruto blinked, and laughed, "Of course!" as if he knew it all along and he headed off to the right. They travelled for about half an hour, with a growing feeling of unease settling in Sakura's stomach when Naruto at last jumped onto the ground. The forest around them seemed to be suddenly quiet, so quiet that they could hear their own breathing. Naruto was moving on already, his stride purposeful when a type of strange smell assaulted Sakura's nostrils. "Smell it? The smell of ramen," Naruto whispered.  
  
Sakura held her nose. The smell was no smell of ramen. It was a mix of the foulness of garbage and bizarrely the sweet fragrance of flowers. If she had not spent the whole afternoon doing the nose sensing exercise, she could not have picked it up so quickly. It took a while, but she realised that she was holding her breath. Just as well, for in front of her, walking deeper into the darkness of the forest, was Naruto, whose legs were trembling and gait unsteady. Then it was all clear to her as the midday sun. Naruto had not smelt ramen. She was right after all, there was no one cooking ramen in here. Sakura put her hands together in the form of a seal.  
  
"Kai!"  
  
Naruto fell onto the ground on unsteady legs. His head almost bumped the ground if not for Sakura who had bent over to hold it up. She let go of him when he sat up. "Um, what is that smell?" he said, wondering where the ramen smell had gone to. Sakura's eyes flitted from tree to tree. There was no one here besides them. "We've fallen into the trap of genjutsu," she whispered, angry at falling into such a lowly trap. Well, she had not really fallen into it, but her lack of confidence had prompted her to follow Naruto instead and now they were nowhere near where they were going. They must have found the right trail, otherwise why bother using the genjutsu on them? "Let's go, we're wasting time here." Sakura said.  
  
"Wait," shouted Naruto. He headed deeper into the direction he was going to. Vexed, Sakura followed and grabbed hold of his arm. They must have wasted eons following a false trail. "Naruto, we.."  
  
"Kiba, Kiba!" Naruto said, confused. Sakura looked around. They couldn't have been able to see anything if not for the light that was pulsating faintly from the rock around. A cave. Sakura went to her knees and touched Akamaru's fur as Naruto shook the bigger boy vigorously. "Hey Kiba, wake up!" he rolled Kiba over. Akamaru was warm, but there was no response when she shook it similarly, only gentler than Naruto. "What's wrong with them?" Naruto said to the pink haired girl, hoping she could provide an answer. Sakura placed her hand on Kiba's neck. His pulse was strong.  
  
"I think they're just unconscious." First Kakshi, then Sasuke, now Kiba and Akamaru. She did not know Kiba's team was in the vicinity. Torn between wanting to keep searching for Sasuke, and asking what Kiba was doing here, Sakura sat back beside the bigger boy. "What're we going to do?" Naruto said, frowning at the sleeping face of Kiba. Kiba was the first serious rival of his level that he had beaten, and that was in the Chuunin preliminary exam. Kiba was strong, and with the combination of Akamaru, they were double strong. What could have knocked them unconscious? Unless it was a strong smell like the time when Naruto's odour stopped his attack. He voiced his suspicion to Sakura, and she turned thoughtful. She suggested that they removed them from the cave, and with the help of Naruto, the two dragged Kiba and Akamaru out. "Fresh air," Sakura muttered, glad to be out of the range of the mix of weird smell. The two team seven team mates waited for about fifteen minutes more and just when Sakura decided to resume the search for Sasuke, Akamaru stirred.  
  
"Akamaru!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands on the dog to steady it as it tried to rise on its legs. The dog gave her a small bark and turned to snuggle against Kiba.  
  
Kiba groaned. "Hey, wake up," Naruto said, and taking hold of the bigger boy's shoulder, he shook him viciously. Akamaru beared his teeth at Naruto but Naruto pretended not to notice.  
  
"Who..?" Kiba mumbled. He sat up and put his hand to his temple. "Kiba, it's me and Naruto," Sakura said. The bigger boy opened his eyes. "Akamaru! You're ok."  
  
"KIBA! Ha, what were you doing sleeping on the floor. Did someone beat the hell out of you?" Naruto said upon seeing him awake. Sakura shot Naruto a glare. He was asking for trouble for sure. Why did boys always like to pick a fight was beyond her.  
  
"Naruto! And Sakura!" Kiba said, finally seeing the two of them. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was asking the same Kiba. We were looking for Sasuke when we walked into a genjutsu trap, and then saw you lying in a cave." Sakura explained.  
  
"Genjutsu," Kiba said, remembering. "You two must have walked into the same trap. What's this with Sasuke?" he asked.  
  
"Sasuke that idiot went out and never came back, just like Kakashi sensei," Naruto fumed.  
  
"Kakashi is here?" Kiba said, startled.  
  
"Why don't you tell us what you were doing, Kiba?" Sakura said. Kiba stood up. An expression close to fear streaked across his face. "Now I remember, let's go," he urged, jumping up to a tree. "Where?" Sakura called. "Where Hinata is," he said, waving at them with a hand to follow. He was obviously impatient. "I'll explain as we go."  
  
"Hinata? She's here?" Naruto said happily. "Where's she?"  
  
They jumped and the trees receded past them quickly like the rushing of water. "We were heading back to the village when Hinata got kidnapped." Naruto went 'WHAT'. "So we chased the kidnapper," Kiba said, giving Naruto a disgusted look, "And ended up in the wave country. I was separated with our sensei and Shino by the genjutsu."  
  
"Do you know why she was kidnapped?" Sakura said. Things were getting weirder and weirder. Maybe Kakashi and Sasuke had also walked into the genjutsu trap. She shook her head. Kakashi sensei was a jounin, he was much more capable than them. "We're not sure." Kiba said evasively.  
  
"What? If they do anything to Hinata, I'll bash them till they howl!" Naruto said heatedly, clutching a fist.  
  
"The trail shouldn't be hard to find," Kiba said, "That damn bastard left a lot of traps behind for the world to know."  
  
"There must be more than one of them then." Sakura deduced.  
  
"More than one, most likely two to three."  
  
"What if the others are here somewhere?" Sakura said suddenly. The person who set the trap must be a very skilled genjutsu user. It was highly possible that Sasuke and Shino might still be near them, lost somewhere in the jutsu. "Just so long as they don't foul my sense of smell. I'll find them," Kiba said, determined.  
  
* * *  
  
The traps set along the route was numerous and getting devious by the second. Sasuke almost did not make out of the last one unscathed. He jerked and threw his body off to his left by instinct, and several kunai flew past his original spot. He stood, panting a little with his chest heaving. This hide and seek game was tiring, and he was running low on his reserve. How many more small traps were lying ahead of him? And he still had not caught a glimpse of the ninja. 


	3. Fire Element Jutsu

Note: regarding Shino¡¦s condition, it is only my speculation. 

Chapter 3 ¡V Fire Element Jutsu

Shino¡¦s eyes fluttered open. The usual noise of the bugs creeping around him, creeping inside him was music to his ears. The noise was there, and it was comforting. They were his friends. He would describe them as his life support, much like his veins and his blood cells. He pushed himself up but immediately found himself stuck. He lifted his leg. Something was sticking to him, yet he was not sure what it was, not with the darkness of night upon him, denying him light. He ceased his struggle and listened, having caught a familiar sound. There was a clicking sound coming somewhere above him. There it was again. The sound¡K he knew what it was. 

The fire was unbearably hot. His body could not stand it, and his bugs were dying. They were no match for him. They had to attack from close range, but the fire kept coming, preventing them from getting closer and frying them the closer they came. The fire.. the heat, the light was stabbing into his eyes. Shino was amazed. This guy must be high on stamina to be able to use the fire element jutsu so many times without running out of chakra. Probably a pill like the one that Kiba used to increase his strength, but Shino had no pills, and his aids were dying. 

He recalled his bugs and ran, hearing the pursuer behind, seemingly jeering at him though the ninja was hardly uttering a noise. The fire swirled around him, scorching green leaves and tree barks, scorching them, turning them into ashes and lifeless inanimate. Shino ran, and the fire chased him to jump higher and higher. His bugs clung to him, feeling the dread heat. 

Shino sweated. He hardly sweats, but he was sweating now. He knew what it was, a giant spider and the substance that impeded his movement were spider thread. He was stuck in a spider web. His bugs would not be able to help. The web was not made out of chakra so they could not chew through it. They will only get stuck like him and became dinner of the eight legged creature. His thought raced like his bugs milling inside him in panic. Spiders were intelligent creatures, so they will listen to reasons, that was, until they deemed you not interesting and decided to butcher you instead. Shino¡¦s hand moved, if only he could draw his glasses off. He lifted his right arm with all the strength he could muster. The clicking sound drifted closer to him. It was like playing tug of war with a rock. He pulled his arm towards him, the thread under his sleeve stretching, pulling the whole web to him. He bent his head. Just a little more¡K. The strain was heart wrenching, and his arm felt like it was breaking. Why? Perhaps it was. The clicking noise came closer. Shino grunted. The insects were his to control. He continued to lift his arm towards him. He will not lose to an insect. 

The clicking sound was right above him, only inches from his face.

Shino¡¦s fingers touched his glasses and flipped it over his head. 

His hollow eye sockets stared at his predator. 

* * *

_That guy. _Kiba thought appraisingly. 

¡§What, what is that?¡¨ Naruto screamed, his voice echoing emptily into the forest. 

¡§Shus, Naruto,¡¨ Kiba rebuked. The three of them came just in time to see Shino being lowered to the ground by a giant spider. A thin almost transparent thread was wrapped around the leaf genin¡¦s waist and when Shino¡¦s feet touched the ground, his glasses slightly askew but were still covering his eyes, the thread unwound and disappeared up into the canopy along with the creature. 

¡§Shino,¡¨ Kiba grinned as his team mate adjusted his glasses. 

¡§Kiba. I see you are all right,¡¨ he said, as if it was entirely expected of him. He turned his sunglasses covered eyes to Naruto. Naruto was always excessive in his expression. In a way, he was much like Kiba, both jumping into things that took their fancy. Although the spider was about to eat him, Shino now considered it a friend, after he managed to tame it with his family¡¦s secret. He did not frown, but did feel a slight tweak in his heart with the way Naruto was acting. 

¡§Why are you here, Naruto,¡¨ he said. ¡§And Sakura,¡¨ he added.

¡§They are looking for Sasuke,¡¨ Kiba said. 

¡§What was with that thing?¡¨ Naruto said, peering up at the treetop where the spider had disappeared. Shino did not reply. 

¡§Sasuke?¡¨

Sakura spoke, though she spoke from a little distance from him. Seeing the spider had convinced her, Shno was not only creepy, he was scary. 

¡§Sasuke left a while ago. Me and Naruto were searching for him when we came across Kiba,¡¨ she explained. 

¡§Lying on the ground,¡¨ Naruto said smartly with a big grin on his face.

Kiba spat.

So Kiba was helped by Naruto and Sakura. That was unexpected. ¡§I was battling a ninja whose stamina was unbelievably high,¡¨ Shino said simply.

¡§And I was fooled around by a genjutsu user,¡¨ Kiba informed him dryly.

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself. A ninja whose stamina was high, and a ninja whose genjutsu could fool the keen sensed Kiba and Akamaru. What enemies were they going up against here? Could they ever find Sasuke? She looked up, her emerald green eyes flashing in worry. ¡§We¡¦ve to find him,¡¨ she said.

Kiba clapped his hands once, ¡§No point standing here. Let¡¦s go.¡¨

Shino nodded and they leaped onto the trees.

A loud explosion shook the earth and smoke issued into the air beneath the now bright moonlight. No one hesitated as they all headed automatically towards the source of the explosion. _Please let him be allright. _Sakura thought anxiously as the leaves brushed her bare arms. The four of them sped on, their shapes becoming a blur, the movement that only a ninja could manage. As they leaped from tree to tree, Sakura noticed kunai embedded in the trees they past. ¡§Fire.¡¨ Kiba warned at the bark of Akamaru.

And there it was, a large ball of fire flashed before them. ¡§Sasuke kun,¡¨ Sakura said.

¡§No,¡¨ Shino said, putting a restraining hand on her arm and she shrank away involuntarily as he continued. ¡§The ninja I fought with uses fire,¡¨ he said quietly.

¡§The guy with high stamina?¡¨ We can match that,¡¨ Kiba said dangerously.

A shout rang through the darkness. 

¡§Naruto!¡¨ the name escaped from Sakura¡¦s lips at the same time as it was also called out by another.

¡§Sasuke kun!¡¨ Sakura said, turning to the sound. It was really Sasuke, looking worn out but still alert as a ninja would. The Uchiha did not hear her, his eyes were fixed on Naruto, or rather, a number of Narutos jumping from tree to tree.

¡§Shall we get busy?¡¨ Kiba said and darted off with Akamaru. Shino vanished. 

¡§I¡¦m not letting you go,¡¨ Naruto said. It was impossible to figure out which was the real Naruto. There were probably twenty or so Narutos running around, but Naruto¡¦s technique, though confusing even for his friends, was working. They were slowing down the ninja, allowing Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Sakura to catch up.

¡§Eat this!¡¨ six Naruto shouted in glee and threw their fists at the ninja, dropping him to the ground. Beneath the bodies of the Naruto clones, the figure pulled out four kunai and threw them, forcing his opponents off him and to turn into puffs of smoke. Sasuke jumped off the tree and performed the fire element jutsu in mid air. Each dart of fire hit the ground, gorging out charred holes as the ninja in black did a series of back flips to avoid the heated projectiles. The ninja straightened while Sasuke¡¦s feet touched the ground, and he felt the cut of wind behind him. He turned around and held up his arms in time to block an attack from Kiba. Grabbing Kiba¡¦s arms with lightning reflexes, the ninja bent an threw the boy into the charging Akamaru as Sasuke and three more Naruto clones jumped on him. 

Fire lighted up the area like a cloud of light, orange and yellow, a mix of pretty light that hid within it the danger one would not suspect. Under the cover of fire, the ninja attempted to escape and he was heading straight towards Sakura. Sakura whipped out her kunai. The moment, swift yet slow in her eye flowed like the time when she was sitting in the market place, with the sound of the people and the aromas of different food surrounding her. Sakura raised the kunai. Four Naruto dropped down from above and thumped onto the ninja, causing him to lose his footing. ¡§Just let me beat this guy up,¡¨ Naruto said beside her with his usual cocky attitude and jumped into the fray. 

Then the atmosphere started to change.


	4. Confusion

Chapter 4 ¡V Confusion 

The moonlight seemed hazy, hitting the air and veering off into many directions. The darkness seemed heavier and closer, pressing into him, enclosing him and blinding him. Sasuke fell onto his knees, his body still and his eyes wide opened. It was all dark, pitch black, he couldn¡¦t even see his own fingers. An unpleasant feeling rose inside him and he sought to push it down. Fear, was as unfamiliar as his showing affection to anyone, but since he became a genin, the feeling had come more than once, confronting him with the fact that he was weak, and he needed desperately to become stronger. To become stronger so he could surpass all the strong ninja out there, to surpass and eventually to kill his brother. He took a deep breath, allowing the motion to calm his nerves. Sasuke got back to his feet. He could not see, but he could use his ears and nose. Strange, one moment Naruto clones were on top of the ninja, and the next it was as if a curtain had dropped, cutting off the performers and the audience. Sasuke heard no sound, no struggle. The Naruto clones were only a few feet in front, he should be able to sense them; and where did the darkness come from? Saske took a step. 

The whistling in the air alerted him to the missiles, and he did a back flip. His ears perked. There were more weapons thrown at him from behind his back and above. Keeping his ears on the sound, he dodged accordingly. It reminded him of all the traps he came across while searching for Kakashi. It was very possible that the person aiming the weapons at him was the very one that set the traps. Sasuke bent his knees and jumped. Dodging them in semi-darkness was manageable, but in total darkness was almost unmanageable. Besides, he was tiring from all the small traps he triggered. They were so well laid that he kept getting surprised one after another. The Uchiha boy turned in the air, his body spinning like a performer in a circus before landing onto the ground.

Sasuke grunted and with all the strength he could focus, pulled his body up in an arch to prevent himself from landing on the spot. Something sharp had pierced through the back of the sandal and cut into his sole. _At least it was not deep, _he thought. He had an idea of what he just stepped on. It must be one of the kunai or shruiken that the enemy had thrown at him. Sasuke leaped away at the sound of more steel cutting through air, heading unmistakably his way. There was no end to this, and he still did not know where his opponent was attacking. 

* * *

¡§Arrrrrrrr!!!!!!! What happened??¡¨ Naruto yelled.

¡§Where did the ninja go?¡¨ Naruto yelled.

¡§I can¡¦t see anything!¡¨ Naruto yelled.

¡§Ouch, you just stepped on my foot.¡¨ Naruto yelled.

¡§Hey, hey!¡¨ the real Naruto shouted, taking hold of one of his clones. ¡§Stop it. How many of us are here?¡¨ he asked.

¡§Four, I think.¡¨

¡§Nah, five is more like it.¡¨

The real Naruto grimaced and turned thoughtful. When Naruto turned thoughtful, it was best not to underestimate him. ¡§Right. You¡¦re number one,¡¨ he said to the clone he had his hand on. ¡§Sing out, number two,¡¨ he said.

Each of the Naruto clones called a number and it turned out there were four clones, so that made it five of them. He was sure he some more, they were probably all out there somewhere, lost in the darkness.

¡§Sakura chan!¡¨ he shouted. The person closest to him when the darkness fell was the ninja, but since the ninja was nowhere near, he called Sakura, the next closest person. His voice echoed emptily and it came back to him, ¡§Sakura¡KSakura¡Kku¡K.ra¡Kra¡K¡¨

¡§Where has everyone gone to?¡¨ Naruto muttered, holding his chin with his hand. 

* * *

Kiba darted through the trees. He could smell the ninja. It was the ninja that was fighting with Sasuke, he was sure of it. The traces of him lingered strongly in the air, or rather, only to Kiba whose sense of smell was far beyond the ordinary.

¡§Ow!¡¨

¡§Good boy, Akamaru,¡¨ he said, grinning. While they were tracking down the ninja, that scent of garbage and flower hit them again. Having fallen once to the trick made the Konoha genin cautious, and he had instructed Akamaru to focus on the strange mix of scent and to alert him when it came. Though there were now two different scents in the air, the ninja and the garbage and flower, Kiba was able to distinguish between them so long as Akamaru kept steering him away from the scent of garbage and flower. Whipping out four shruiken, Kiba¡¦s eyes gleamed as he threw them. Akamaru ran past him to stop the ninja from the front.

¡§You¡¦re going nowhere,¡¨ Kiba said, falling straight onto the ninja with his long nailed hand outstretched as Akamaru, now in the form of Kiba, performed the same move. Caught by surprise, the ninja was hit from both sides and flung high above into the air. Shino¡¦s words flashed across Kiba¡¦s mind for a second as the ninja, instead of falling down onto the ground with a loud thump, twisted in mid air and landed perfectly upon a strong branch. ¡§Again, Akamaru!¡¨ Kiba roared.

* * *

Shino lifted a hand. Crawling on his forefinger was a small black bug, one of the many males that lived inside him. Genjutsu was not much use against him, he could see through the illusion without much effort, but this was a great genjutsu master, and a little precaution was needed. 

Something rustled in the tree next to him and he waved his hand, his bugs coming out of his sleeves like waves of water to the person hiding among the leaves. 

¡§Wait, wait. It¡¦s me!¡¦ three voices stammered, batting at the bugs with three pairs of hands. 

Shino did not recall his buys. He knew Naruto had sent out a fair number of clones, but a genjutsu user could easily imitate that. ¡§Why don¡¦t you recall your bugs? It¡¦s me, Shino!¡¨ the Naruto clones chorused. 

¡§Who is your biggest rival, Naruto?¡¨ Shino asked.

¡§Why do you ask? Get them off me!¡¨ There was more rustling, thumping and yelling amidst the noise of insects crawling.

¡§Who is your biggest rival, Naruto?¡¨ he repeated.

¡§You will get them off if I answered?¡¨ the nervous Narutos said.

¡§I will,¡¨ Shino promised.

¡§Well. Why do you ever need to ask?¡¨ the Narutos turned cocky despite the bugs attacked to their arms and legs, making their skin itchy. ¡§Uchiha Sasuke! One day, I¡¦ll make him see who is stronger.¡¨ Naruto said determinedly. Shino imagined that look on his face, always full of energy and determination. 

The bugs retreated.

¡§Naruto. I¡¦m trying to track down the genjutsu ninja. If you¡¦re going to hang around, I suggest you stay still and be quiet.¡¨

The three Narutos peered out of the leaves at him. None of them could see very clearly where Shino was in the dark, but the feeling of the bugs, though there were not any on them now, was still hideously fresh in their minds, and the three Narutos stayed quiet wisely as asked.

¡§How long will this take?¡¨ one Naruto whispered.

¡§Just get ready to move,¡¨ Shino said shorting and listened to the reports of his bugs.

* * *

A powerful genjutsu, even she, the only student praised by Kakashi to have a good sense of this type of jutsu, was not able to pierce through it immediately. She put a hand on the rough tree bark and tuned to her senses. She just had to stop letting the jutsu confuse her. Pretend the darkness was not there. Sakura¡¦s hands worked.

¡§Kai!¡¨

Nothing happened. 

Sasuke. He did not look well from the distance. How long had he been fighting? Could he stand a chance against the same fire element jutsu he used? Sakura shook her head. Her mind was filled with worries for Sasuke, no wonder she could not concentrate. What use was she to Sasuke and herself to keep getting distracted at this critical moment? She knew Naruto would have fallen under the genjutsu easily, just like the time in the stadium during the Chuunin exam, and the others¡K Sakura did not place too much trust in their getting out this, though Kiba¡¦s keen nose and Shino¡¦s bugs might be able to. 


End file.
